


The Odd One Out

by aorangeinboston



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Additional Potter Child, Anxiety, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dysfunctional Family, Gen, Light Angst, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other, Squibs, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-02-11 04:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2054430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aorangeinboston/pseuds/aorangeinboston
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was the squib sister to Harry Potter. And while she may have known him for his entire life but she still didn't know what was going on through that boys head. Especially when a lot of what was going through his head revolved around racing broomsticks, uncovering the mysteries of some magical Scottish castle, wand work and truly despising his Potions professor. But now Sirius Black, the man who lead to the death of their parents, has escaped from the infamous Wizard prison Azkaban and she has been whisked away to Hogwarts for her safety.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I've previously published this story under the same username (aorangeinboston) and same title on fanfiction.net before. Not sure how often the updates for this story will be, I know I'm in it for the long haul but at the moment doing all the adult stuff has to come first because apparently that's how the real world works. Comments would be very appreciated as I need all the input I can get to help me write a better story, but there also just lovely to get!
> 
> FYI the original character mentioned in the tags is the older squib sister to Harry Potter: Augusta Potter other wise known as Gus. Just to clear some things up as its been mentioned by some people as confusing.
> 
> Minor swearing but nothing to intense.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aunt Marge comes for a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on an editing spree of this story in a severe moment of procrastination of writing the next chapter of the story, which is me procrastinating revision for my final projects. The edits are in spots that I thought were necessary because I wrote these chapters originally around a year ago and I want to have the best stuff out there. The other chapters will be edited within the next few days as I continue to avoid doing real work.
> 
> Also, I'm not JK Rowling, I own nothing but my own OCs and the plots that you do not recognize from the original series.
> 
> Please enjoy,  
> Meg

They had been preparing for the visit a week in advanced. For when Aunt Marge arrived it meant that there was going to be new linens, extra brandy, and enough food that would rival the needs of an entire African village for a month. And now she was only minutes away.

This caused the girl sitting on the stairs of Number 4 Privet Drive to shift with apprehension, her hands twining themselves in her dark red hair to stop them from picking at the recently hovered carpet. Her memory of Marge's last visit was not a pleasant one; Ripper, Marge's favorite bull dog, had bitten her arm so severely that she had needed to have stitches for several weeks. Ripper of course had been given a full pardon and her dinner after the incident.

Harry was upstairs trying to avoid Marge for as long as he could; he and Uncle Vernon had already had a discussion in which Harry ransomed Uncle Vernon's respectability in exchange for him signing some sort of permission paper. But unlike her brother, Gus Potter didn't really have any secret she could hold over her Aunt and Uncle's heads to get what she wanted. Unlike Harry she didn't go to a magical school, own a pet owl or have the ability to trap her cousin Dudley in a zoo exhibit. So she was stuck wishing that maybe as a reward for her good behaviour she'd finally get a new pair of shoes.

Instead of focusing on her worry over the next week of hell she began to watch Aunt Petunia go over the entrance halls picture frames again, checking for any sign of dust that she might have missed. When promptly finishing her last photo of Dudley in his school uniform, which consisted of a hilarious straw hat and knickerbockers, she turned to look at Gus between the stair banisters.

Gus didn't understand her Aunt Petunia. She wanted normal, she wanted everything to be perfectly normal and in its place. The doilies dotted around the sitting room surfaces were a pristine white. The flowers in the front garden were perfectly cared for. The curtains were at the perfect height and angle to allow for maximum snooping during the day, making Petunia the king pin of the Privet Drive gossip ring. But for all the perfection that Petunia seeked she continued to have Harry and Gus dress in shabby hand me downs and charity shop buys.

It seemed that Petunia was openly stating that the Potters were not a part of her perfect world. And for most of Gus’s life she believed that she was from another world. The story that Harry and she had been told whenever they asked about their parents when they were younger was that their “drunk of a father” had crashed the family car, killing their parents and leaving the two children to ungratefully mooch off of their aunt and uncle until they were 18. But once Harry and her had been told the truth about their origins, that their parents had been a witch and a wizard, and that Harry was one as well, Gus didn’t know what world she belonged in. She herself wasn’t a witch, but she also wasn’t apart of Petunia’s perfect world. The limbo she had found herself in was incredibly lonely. Sometimes she greatly desired for Petunia to be hit on the head by some hanging plant holder she put up in the spring and to suddenly want to pull Gus into her perfect world-

"Do you really have to wear those shoes?" Gus jumped; Aunt Petunia was looking down at her as she reached over the railing of the stairs to pick a piece of lint off of Gus's shoulder.

Looking over at the assaulted shoulder she looked up at her Aunt, "They’re the only shoes I have."

Apparently there was more lint on Gus, and Petunia began to aggressively pick and pinch at different parts of her dress. "No they're not, you have your school ones."

Rolling her eyes Gus shifted away from Petunia's hand, "I told you they're too small for me last Christmas."

Petunia gave Gus a sharp look and with an equally sharp tone said, "That's not my problem."

Gus matched her Aunt's look, "It should be, they kept sending me home all the last month of school to change."

Pulling back from her assault Petunia, crossed her arms and gave a quick glance over the rest of Gus’s appearance, "They should keep for a few more months."

"Aunt Petunia-"

"Stop arguing with me." Petunia cleared her throat waiting for Gus.

"Sorry Aunt Petunia."

* * *

 

Dinner as usual involved polite conversation that exclusively left out the Potter children. Though it was nice to not have to comment on Dudley's activities or Vernon's going ons at works. And now as per usual Gus and Harry were clearing away the dinner plates, Marge alone was still piling on the remains of dinner to hers.

"Now what's going on with you girl?" Gus jumped at Marge's voice; Marge never usually addressed Harry or her directly, but insulted them by making snide comments to Vernon or Petunia.

Before answering she looked between Vernon and Petunia for permission, both who nodded at her with a suspicious eye, "I'm at the local school."

Marge gave a barking laugh, "Haven't kicked you out yet have they? Only a matter of time, you're probably causing all sorts of problems up there."

Turning back to Harry who was loading the dishwasher,r she rolled her eyes and gave in to a small act of defiance and stood up a bit taller as she grabbed an empty bowl of mashed potatoes and the gravy pot, "Actually I'll be taking my GCSE's this year, the only problem I've really caused is with class sizes."

Marge gave an evaluating look over as she paused in her eating, as if she couldn't believe this stick of a girl before her actually had potential.

"You've finally started to respond to discipline, I remember all the trouble you used to give Vernon here when you just would walk around at all hours of the night." Gus returned to handing the empty plates to Harry at the counter, it was usually horrible enough watching Dudley shove food down his throat but combined with Marge's ferocity she wanted to gag. "Now Vernon, where is it that you send him, again?"

Uncle Vernon started off in proud voice, "St. Brutus's, it's a first rate institution for hopeless cases." Even when insulting his nephew he had to brag about how well he ill-treated him. Both Harry and Gus began to snicker, if only Marge knew…

"Do they use the cane at St. Brutus's, boy?"

Gus looked up at Harry who was clearing off a dish; she really had no idea what they did for punishment at Hogwarts. While Harry had mentioned a massive amount of detentions spent with a debutant teacher this past year at school, she never really heard anything else about discipline. And from the stories she had been told he definitely deserved a few more detentions, "Oh, they beat us all the time."

"Good, these you need to get some real punishment." Again Gus rolled her eyes at the statement, besides for the sarcasm that dripped from almost every word Harry said there really wasn't any reason for ‘real’ punishment, well at least from what Gus knew.

"It's always like this with trouble makers. What did their father do again Petunia?" Gus paused in her walk from the dining table back to Harry at the dishwasher.

Simultaneously both Potter siblings tightened their grip on their respective plates.

Petunia ignored their reactions at the mention of her brother-in-law, and provided the answer that started off the evening’s events, "Nothing, he was unemployed."

"Ah yes, probably a drunk."

"My father wasn't a drunk!" Gus jumped at Harry’s shout. It had been going kind of well so far. With white knuckles from her grip on the plate in her hands, Gus watched Marge and Harry’s glares look onto each others.

In her usual way Marge gave Harry an assessing look over before continuing on with her attack, "But it does seem that it's always the mother's fault. You see it in dogs all the time, if there is something wrong with the bitch there's something wrong with the pups."

After stuffing a sausage into her mouth she talked through the meat, pointing her knife in Gus's direction, "Look at the girl; she'll probably pop out a few freaks in her time!"

"Shut up! Don't you dear talk about my family like that!"

* * *

 

Gus didn't give a damn about the Dursley's respectability at the moment, they already had a floating balloon women fly out of their back garden this evening, what more damage could some shouting do. Following Harry who was awkwardly attempting a determined march away from the house she called out to him "Harry you just can't leave!"

He turned in the gravel drive causing a few pebbles to fly around, "Yes I can. I'm not staying with them anymore!" he looked angrily at the house and then back at her, "It's not fair what they do to us! How can you let yourself be talked to like that...?"

Calming her voice she tried to sound reasonable even though she knew Harry was right, it wasn't fair how they treated them, "Harry, just come back it'll blow over..."

He pointed to the sky and shouted, "I blew up Marge! That won't blow over!" He began his march again, creating a wave of gravel underneath his chest, Hedwig's cage precariously bumping on top.

She ran to catch up with him, before rounding and glaring directly into his eyes, "Harry James Potter!" Huffing she paused before she continued on, "You can't just leave me. You talk about things not being fair, and you just leave me every year!"

"Gus you..." Harry began some rebuttal but she wouldn't let him finish,

"Just go!" He jumped at her voice, she'd never yelled like this before.

"Gus-"

"Go!"

* * *

 

Harry James Potter had done some dumb things in his time. Before they had any idea that Harry was magical he had always tested his limits, talking back sometimes to Uncle Vernon or the bullies that used to haunt them around the school yard. But this took the cake. Maybe it didn't beat out battling a giant snake that could freeze you with its eyes, or a three headed dog, or giant spiders in a forest full of wolves, but this was up there.

He had finally left the safety of Gus's watchful eye. When he was away at school she could always count that some adult supervision was being provided to him, but with the last year's events she really didn't know if she could fully trust Hogwarts with her little brother. Without her around he said things, did things, things that were usually dumb and landed him in trouble. And without her around there was no making sure what level of stupidity his bad decisions would reach this year.

But it wasn't even the worry and anxiety about Harry's safety that was worming its way all around her body. It was the loneliness that hurt the most. She only got to keep her little brother for a summer and even then he was usually distracted with day dreams or school work. But now, he was gone and she wasn't really sure if he would or could come back. There was no doubt that Uncle Vernon would throttle him to death if he came back, and then Aunt Petunia would clean up the crime scene so that no one besides the strange red headed clan of wizards that Harry was friends with would notice him missing.

That wizard family had taken in Harry last summer, and would most likely take him in again now that he would refuse to ever come back. He told her over and over about all of the wonderful things that went on in their cottage. The proper food, the laughter, the pranks, the happy shouts and the bickering between siblings. But Gus didn’t belong there, she didn’t belong her back with the Dursleys and she didn’t belong where Harry did. It didn’t even feel like she was stuck between the two, it was like she was in a completely separate universe. Not wizard. Not muggle. Not anything.

Before it had always been her and Harry against the world, them huddled together under their staircase. Telling each other stories about their days at school. Whispering about something stupid Dudley did, or how funny Vernon looked about the results of the last elections. But that had all just disappeared over night. Ever since September 1st, 1991 Harry had been growing farther and farther away from her. Gus was almost convinced that she could see the distance between them growing; there was nothing in common between them anymore. He had that stupid broom game- quidpitch or something of the sort, he had his friends at school, and he had people and a place he belonged to. Augusta Eliana Potter had no one but Harry. And for most of the year she didn’t have him.

"Excuse me Miss." Gus jumped at the raspy voice. She was sure that she was alone in the side alley after she had walked away from Harry. Standing from her spot on the curb she had been on for a few minutes she saw a willowy, tangled hair man at the entrance of the alley.

She really didn't want to deal with any one right now.

Standing Gus faced the man who was standing at the entrance of the alley, "What do you want?"

He stumbled forward a bit, Gus took a few steps back; he was probably off his face on some sort of booze.

Taking a deep breath he rasped out, "I was wondering if you were alright."

"I'm fine."

He looked back from where he had entered the alley and then to her, "Was that your brother?"

She didn't like where this was going, she took a few more steps back, "Why do you care?"

"No reason."

"Everyone has a reason," she bit out, "So why'd you ask?"

"Just curious." He shrugged his shoulders, but the movements made him cough and heave for a minute. Gus's desire to bolt at the first chance she got was being pushed down by her concern for the fact that the man sounded like he was hacking up his own lungs.

"Why?" Her voice had lost the harshness she had put on before. It now just revealed her fatigue.

In the dim street light she could see the man smile; his teeth were disgusting as if they hadn't been brushed in years, "Just am is all." He began to chuckle, though it was interrupted with a deep cough, "Used to yell at my brother that way all the time."

"I've- I've got to go."

Gus backed her out of the alley before turning and running once she reached the top of Privet Drive. The man's eyes followed her sadly before he entered into another coughing fit.

"Yes, yes, of course."

* * *

 

Gus had only just opened the front door before Aunt Petunia descended onto her.

"Where have you been?" Aunt Petunia stood up, her arms crossed stiffly in front of her chest and her neck stretching so that it started to appear as if she were a giraffe.

Swallowing she watched Uncle Vernon enter the hallway, the purple colour his face took on when he was very, very angry had yet to recede, "I went after Harry."

"Where is the little..."

"He went to Diagon Alley," Gus blurted, she had no idea if that's where he was going but it was the best bet she could make at the moment, after receiving blank looks she expanded on her answer, "The wizard marketplace in London." Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exchanged looks before a new voice broke the tense silence.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Dursley, is this Miss Potter?" A woman with long curly blonde hair had walked into the already cramped hallway; she looked between Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia before she turned an examining gaze onto Gus.

"Yes it is."

With her answer she took a confident step forward and presented Gus with a badge, "Hello Miss Potter, I'm Scotty Croope, I work with the Auror's Office in the Ministry of Magic." Gus took the badge she had presented.

Gus just blinked at the title the woman had given herself; it took her a minute before she made the wizard to muggle translation, "Aurors, like the wizarding police, right?"

Scotty gave a curt nod of confirmation as she flipped through some papers had, "Yes, a bit like that."

Panic set in to Gus as she realized why the wizarding police would come looking for Harry. _Harry blew Marge up. Harry blew Marge up using magic. Harry blew Marge up using magic outside of Hogwarts. Harry blew Marge up using magic outside of Hogwarts, and is going to end up like Hagrid._ Gus began to sputter an explanation, "I know Harry's not supposed to use magic outside of school, but I swear this was an accident. He didn't have his wand out or anything."

"Oh, we have a different team working out what happened with-" she looked down at a clip board where several scrolls hung off of it, flipping through them she found what she was looking for, "A Miss Marge Dursley." She looked up at Gus with a serious look and tone, "I'm here to discuss with you about the escape of Sirius Black."

"That murderer from the tele?" Dudley had now jumped into the conversation; it wasn't much of a surprise that anything revolving around the tele interested Dudley who watched it almost none stop.

"That's the information that we've released to the Muggle public, yes." Scotty turned to look at Dudley who was standing in the door way to the sitting room, somehow, as almost by magic the hallway was fitting not only both Dursley boys, but three other bodies as well.

Gus stared at Scotty before recovering, "He's from your world?"

Scotty's eyebrows cocked at her question, "Don't you mean ours?"

Vernon supplied the details for Scotty this time, "She's a freak. Even for you lot, can't do magic."

"Oh you mean a squib?"

"Yeah." Gus looked down and began to shuffle her feet. Like a true bureaucrat Scotty began to shuffle through her papers looking for some sort of page, from where Gus was standing she was able to catch glimpses of pages with moving text on them.

"I didn't know that you didn't attend Hogwarts. It wasn't in your files…." Scotty said as she began to furiously scribble with a quill she procured from god knows where.

"It's fine." Gus muttered, she didn't care about that now, "What does Sirius Black have to do with Harry and me?"

In a casual manner Scotty began, "Well we believe that the escaped wizard convict Sirius Black will be attempting to contact and possibly harm you and Harry."

The murders relevance to her and Harry made her go a bit numb, she had just let her little brother wander away from her, "Oh."

Uncle Vernon had stomped his foot, causing most of the picture frames in the hall to jump against the walls, "She's not staying here if a murderer is going to be coming around."

Scotty now turned from Gus to Uncle Vernon, "That's why the Auror's office sent me out, until Sirius Black is caught and no longer a threat to Augusta and Harry Potter, they will be under the direct protection of the Ministry of Magic. She will be coming with me, and we will find Mr. Potter in Diagon Alley."

Gus couldn't comprehend the fact that she would be getting away from Privet Drive finally, there was something bigger on her mind, "What about school? I have my GCSE's this year and I need to be in class." She hadn't worked that hard her entire secondary career just to have it go down the drain because of an escaped convict.

Scotty didn't even seem to notice that Gus's voice had taken on a panicked tone; she was looking down at her watch "We'll find a solution for that problem later. Now Miss Potter I'll help you pack your things and we'll be on our way."

The Dursleys had left Gus and the strange Auror in the hallway after they had found out that they themselves were in no mortal danger.

Gus stood outside her and Harry's bedroom; it looked how it usually did. Harry's belongings, posters and general mess were missing, living a large portion of the room bare.

"I've got a lot of stuff to pack so you might want to wait downstairs."

"Actually I'll be able to help you with that, allow me." Scotty opened a small leather bag that to Gus resembled Mary Poppin's carpet bag before swishing her arm "Pack."

In a matter of seconds all of Gus's things flew in an organized matter from around the room and into the bag, which in no way seemed to appear stuffed, even though everything Gus had collected over her 14 years of life was now inside of it.

"Much quicker, we do have a schedule to be sticking to."

"Of course, yeah." Still a bit stunned at the pace that all this was taking she nodded numbly at Scotty.

Again downstairs Petunia glared at Gus, she was stuck crouched down attempting to find some salvable dishware that hadn’t been smooshed by Marge when she had begun to expand. Dudley was still glued to the television screen, and Vernon was looking out the observatory door as if he would be able to catch a glimpse of Marge in the sky.

"Now would you like to say goodbye to your Aunt and Uncle." Scotty stood by the front door with her hands clasped in a business-like manner in front of her holding her carpet bag.

Gus who was standing next to her called out, "Yeah- I hope Marge gets better."

"Of course you do." Vernon yelled from the back garden.

Gus turned on her heel and walked out the front door, "We can go."

"Lovely."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for Scotty I imagine Alex Kingston being her. Even though she plays River Song whos a bit of an anarchist, I feel like Scotty has that same sort of sass in her. So anything out of Scotty's mouth imagine the lovely Ms Kingston saying!  
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to when Gus first experienced magic.

Scotty and Gus had walked a short distance from Privet Drive, near the alley way that Gus had earlier seen the homeless man in. Though there was no sign of him around now. Scotty was now putting various things away into compartments of her cloak, Gus looked around for any sign of transportation, magical or muggle.

“So will we be walking to London or taking a cab or…“

Straightening her skirt and blazer out Scotty distractedly explained, “We’ll be apparating.” Looking up Scotty gave Gus what looked like a forced smile. “Now first time apparition can be very difficult on the body and you may feel a bit sick afterwards but it’s nothing to worry about.”

Gus blinked at Scotty for a moment, “What’s apparition?”

“It’s going from one place to another.” She answered simply. Gus was getting annoyed with the woman, saying things she didn’t know about and then explaining them as if they were commonsense.

“So teleporting.”

Mulling over on the semi foreign word for a moment Scotty nodded in agreement, “In a muggle sense yes.”

“Wicked.” Gus said quietly. She had to admit that was a bit cool. Sometimes, only sometimes, she appreciated magic.

Scotty stuck her arm out in Gus’s direction and readjusted her hold on her carpet bag, “Now hold onto my arm very tightly. Don’t want to lose you along the way.”

“Will I fall-“On the muggle street Gus’s voice was cut off, but when appearing outside of the Leaky Cauldron in London with a crack it carried out into a shriek of surprise, “OFF!”

“Are you alright?” Besides a trembling Gus, Scotty stood as comfortably as she just had outside of Privet Drive.

Holding on to the damp brick wall Gus looked up at Scotty with a dangerous look, “Bloody hell, of course I’m not alright I was just-” though she couldn’t continue her rampage as she began to gag, it took her a moment to recover, now more calmly she stated, “That’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” Scotty asked.

“I don’t know like ‘Beam me up Scotty’, not being pulled through a black hole,” Was Gus’s answer from her bent over position.

Scotty gave Gus a confused look, “What do you mean by a black hole?”

Standing up, Gus felt a bit of confidence spring through her, finally something that had the witch puzzled, “You know, what happens after a sun dies, it collapses in on itself and gravity begins to pull everything through it and rips everything apart.”

Scotty considered the explanation given to her, “Never heard of it.” She rose her eyebrows in a dismissive ‘who would of thought’ manner and pulled out a pocket mirror from her bag.

Gus stood shocked for a second, “I thought they made you all take astronomy at Hogwarts.”

“Astrology not astronomy dear.” Called Scotty from behind a small compact mirror that was floating in front of her, she was fixing her hair before she grabbed the item out of the air and snapped it closed.

Gus gave a scoff, “They teach you all that stuff about your star signs but not about what really happens in space?”

Scotty said in a no nonsense voice, “That is what happens in space, the stars help us to determine certain events.” She then began a determined strut towards the front door of the Leaky Cauldron. Gus following behind Scotty as she lead the way, mumbled under their breaths:

“What barmy things are they teaching Harry?”

* * *

 

Currently Hagrid, Harry and Gus were sitting on a “muggle” train, Hagrid explained earlier that morning over breakfast of sausages that muggles were non-magical folk. They had no clue about the secret community of magical people living amongst them or they were not supposed to know about them. Occasionally though a few would be exposed to some magic.

Most of the “muggles” on the train kept looking over at the giant man and the two small children that occupied one end of the car, Gus had to admit that Hagrid was a sight that took some getting used to. Hagrid that morning had taken Harry and her away from the shack that their Uncle Vernon had rented in an attempt to hide from a barrage of owl delivered letters that were addressed to Harry. Though the letters continued to follow them as they road tripped across Southern England in an attempt to keep a grasp of normalcy. The shack on a remote island had been Uncle Vernon’s last attempt to hide from the letters and who ever had been sending them. It turns out that Hagrid had been Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s last attempt to get into contact with Harry. And on 12:01 am on the day of Harry’s eleventh birthday Hagrid had knocked down the door of the shack and changed the Potter’s lives forever.

The whole concept that Hagrid had introduced into her and Harry’s life was going to be something to get used to; they, or rather Harry was magic. Gus was in fact a member of the magical community known as a squib, or a person born into a wizarding family but hadn’t been born with much or any magic in them. It explained why Gus had not received a letter from Hogwarts when she had turned 11 the previous year.

Another concept that was going to take some getting used to was the fact that their parents had not in fact been the drunks that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had always made them about to be. Hagrid hadn’t said much on the topic of their parents but with the way he spoke about them, and the offense he took when Harry had told them the story that he and Gus had been told their entire lives they apparently seemed to be good people.

Gus looked over at the giant, he was currently glaring at the other muggles on the train as they openly starred up at his enormous form. At first both Harry and her had been wary of the large man who had not only taken the shack’s front door of its hinges, as well as given their cousin Dudley a pig’s tail, but he had been genuinely happy to see both of them. After the Dursley’s had retreated in terror to the upper story of the shack he had become very enjoyable company, letting a sunny disposition come through.

In a few hours she had become very comfortable with the pink umbrella wielding wizard. Hagrid always had a smile on his face, even with it hidden by his beard you could see the edges of his beard move and while he was rather loud in the small area it seemed that he was soft spoken, never truly raising his voice to the degree that Gus guessed he could. He had also been a great help for explaining the basics of magic for Harry and her, at first he had been angry at their Aunt and Uncle as they had hid the fact that they were a part of the magical community and “’ad the right to know about who they are”.

Harry was bent over his school list at the moment; he had been reading it almost obsessively ever since they had sat themselves on the train, “Hagrid you really think we can find all of this in London?”

Hagrid’s beard began to move and from what Gus could tell he had curled his mouth into a mischievous smile, “If you know where to look.”

* * *

 

The looks that the pub goers had been giving Harry had been strange. The fact that to get to the place that Hagrid “knew where to look” he had to knock a password onto bricks had been strange. The people in cloaks and witches hats, the owls flying around, the randomly levitating items, the brooms for sale, the goblins running a bank, the fact that Harry and she had money (a lot of money in fact, even if it was wizard money) had all been strange. Though this took the cake for strange. A book was in a cage. A book with teeth, fur, eyes and a ferocious growl was locked in a cage, and was for sale, but not in a pet store.

It was underneath a sign that read ‘used school books’ where there were damaged copies of different levels of alchemy and transfiguration books as wells as copies from other disciplines. Leaning forward Gus locked eyes with the battered and furry book, so far all she heard was growls, it was probably just a joke. It had to be, no one in their right mind would make children study from a book that was going to attempt to maim you. She raised a finger and touched the edge of the cage. The vibrations from her light touch set the book off, it began to glide forward, opening and closing its mouth at such a ferocious rate that bits of torn up paper began to fly out of it.

Jumping back Gus, decided that it was probably best that she buy her books and leave, before she lost a limb in the book store. As she made her way further into the book shop, where the queue was she saw a man perusing a section of the store called ‘pyromancy’. He had just opened a book and a fireball flew out and scorched his face, leaving him with black ash and smoking eyebrows. Not paying attention she kept on walking, bumping into a tall boy that was at the end of the queue.

“Sorry.” Gus mumbled up at the boy, looking away to not see his expression. Gus assumed it would be one of annoyance.

“It’s alright.” The boy himself was carrying a pile of books, most had the word OWL on the spine of them.

As he turned back to shuffle forward a few feet in the queue as another customer moved up to the counter, Gus chanced her luck and asked “Do you like owls?” Gus’s own purchase was a book about how to take care of owls. Hagrid had let her in on the surprise that he had for a Harry, a beautiful snow white owl. Maybe the boy would know about some more books she could get.

He looked back down at her, his brow furrowed “Wha’?”

Shuffling forward like the other shop patrons Gus swallowed nervously before she clarified, “Do you like owls? You have an awful lot of books on owls.”

He laughed. “No, it’s for my OWLS, they’re a test you take in your fifth year.” She gave him a look before taking a closer look at the book’s spines, “Are you a first year?”

Gus readjusted her grip on the book in her arms, “No, but my brother is going to be.”

Nodding the boy took another step forward in line, “What house is he hoping to be in?”

“House?” Gus remembered that Hagrid had told them that Hogwarts was supposed to be a giant castle, why would Harry have to be in a house?

“The school houses, you get sorted into them first year. They’re like teams, there’s Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, which is where I am, or Slytherin.” He bit out the last house bitterly.

Gus was stumped; did Harry know any of this? “Oh, well I don’t think he knows really.”

He gave her another nod and then began in an understanding voice, “Ah, are your parent’s muggles?”

“Like the people who aren’t witches and wizards?”

“Yea’.” He gave another nod.

“No, Hagrid said that our mum and dad went to Hogwarts.” A look of confusion ran across his face.

“Ah, maybe my parents know them.” He gave her a look that said ‘well who are they?’.

“Lily and James Potter.”

The stack of eight books fell from his arms the second she finished their last name.

“What!” He just stared at her, not even caring about his books.

Gus set her own pile of books down and bent to help grab a few of the boy’s books that tumbled near her, “What’s the matter with them?” From what Hagrid described of them her parent’s seemed like nice people, but what had they done to deserve this sort of shock at being mentioned?

The boy had seemed to regain some of his wits as he took the books Gus had handed him, “Nothing, nothing, I just… I didn’t know that they had a daughter is all. I thought it was just Harry.”

Gus froze. It was just like those people in the pub, “How’d you know my brother’s name?”

 “Everyone does.” She looked up at him sharply.

“Is that why all those people shook our hands at the pub?”

“You mean the leaky cauldron? Of course they’d shake your hands, your brother stopped you-know-who.”

Gus looked at him skeptically, “You-know-who?” No she did not know who you-know-who was.

“You’re holding up the line son!”

 “Sorry, sorry.” He muttered before moving forward a few feet.

“You-know-who?” Gus repeated.

“Ask anyone and they can tell you. Do you really not know?”

“Oi! Stop chatting and move the queue!” Another man called behind them angrily. The boy had moved forward a bit, awkwardly trying to keep from tripping over the piles of books that littered the floor and still keep looking at her.

“Son, are you gonna pay for those?” asked the man behind the till, finally distracting the boy from his disbelieving gaze at Gus. Which Gus was extremely happy for, she’d as Hagrid about this whole you-know-who business and how it related to Harry and her parents.  

* * *

 

The boy walked out of the shop towards an older woman, who was now taking the lighter books from the stack that the boy had been holding earlier, “Yeah it was weird Mum! She said that she was his sister or something, that it’d be his first year at school.”

His mother was looking down at a piece of parchment similar to the one Hagrid had given Harry the day before, “Well it was 10 years ago, he’s probably at school age now.” Her aloof tone seemed to say that her concentration was on the remaining items of the list rather than her son’s strange experience.

She motioned for the boy to move in front of her, and she balanced the parchment on his back as she fumbled with the pocket of her robes, he turned his head so that he could glance at her from over his shoulder, “But did you know that they had a daughter?”

She had pulled a quill out her robes and began checking off random spaces of the parchment, “No clue.”

“But shouldn’t we have heard about her?” She stuffed the parchment and quill back into her robes before she took one of the stacks out of the boy’s hands.

She began to walk off down the street, “Oliver dear, it was probably a girl fibbing to get a laugh. Let it drop, come on lets meet your father at QQS before he buys another Puddlemere jersey.”

She hadn’t even taken a step out of the book shop before Hagrid’s booming voice called her attention over to the stack of used books she had been standing at earlier, he was standing next to the horrible animal-book thing, “Ah there you are Gus. You got Harry his present?”

She was momentarily distracted from the strange encounter with the boy and the whole you-know-who conversation; she smiled up at the giant, “Yeah I did, I got him a book on owls!”

He returned her smile with a grin of his own, his beard moving up, “That’ll be great help with this little lovie!”

Gus hadn’t even noticed the cage that he had been holding at first, she was more distracted by the animal-book’s animated growling and jumps as it tried to reach a piece of Hagrid’s jacked that had managed to get itself caught in its cage, “She’s beautiful Hagrid!”

“Only the best for you two.” Her smile grew at that. No one ever got Harry and her the best.

“Now let’s go see how he’s doing at Ollivander’s.”

As they walked along the busy street, Gus clutching onto the edge Hagrid’s jacket to not get lost in the crowd, they hadn’t noticed the book animal’s cage that had been knocked down by Hagrid’s departure. Screams erupted from the area as a flurry of scrap paper flew from where the book was scuttling around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gus learns more about her parents death than the classic tale of them meeting their demise by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just concerning a review I got on FFnet.com about the second chapter:  
> So the furry magical creature book, I know that the book is used by Harry and the other third years in the third book, but it was probably published before that year and possibly used in the school's curriculum before, so I put it in the used book pile. *shrugs* Just put it in as a bit of comedy. There was also a question about how Gus would be taking her GCSE's if she's only a year older than Harry, I plan on having Gus be very book smart, and in the US when you're young enough and show really good skills in all the basics they sometimes will have you skip a grade just so you "blossom" and aren't bugging the teachers about having no work to do. I've asked a few people in the UK and there are people who might sit one GCSE exam early, but it's not common to sit all of your GCSE exams a year early. Just giving myself some artistic license for the sake of the story.  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Updated as of 4/12/2015

The Leaky Cauldron, it was a building that Gus had only been inside once in her life. It had been right after Harry had discovered that he was a wizard two years prior, and Hagrid had wooshed them away from a tiny hut on the coast of the Irish Sea.

She didn't particularly like the pub, like most holes in the wall places it was dingy and drab, with barely any light coming in from the smudged windows. Though it was the memory of being told about who had exactly killed their parents and why Harry was being treated like a sacred relic that gave her such bad connotations with it. It involved He-who-must-not-be-named, or Lord Voldermort, a wizard who had gone mad in his claim for power over the wizarding world. And somehow a one year old Harry had vanquished a man who seemed to have all the power in the world, resulting in his lightning bolt scar. Hagrid had mentioned finding Gus in the downstairs cupboard, but like Harry Gus had no recollection of the events that happened over a decade earlier.

Scotty ushered Gus into the decrepit looking building, "You and your brother will be staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the school year starts."

Gus turned to look back at Scotty who was now guiding her along with her hands on her shoulders, weaving her in between the bar patrons and furniture, "You said that I wouldn't be going back to Privet Drive, where will I be going to school?"

"You'll be studying at Hogwarts." Scotty sighed.

That made Gus laugh, "I can't do magic, what am I going to do? Learn the theory of turning a rat into a cup?"

They had ended up at the foot of a screwy looking staircase that Gus thought looked straight out of a haunted house in a Saturday morning cartoon. Scotty was now in front with her back to her and with a snap of her fingers the carpet bag was floating in front of Gus, as the woman began up the stairs the bag eagerly followed.

"No, Headmaster Dumbledore has acquired the books you'll need to study for the," Scotty looked down at her paper work again, "Gacse exams you'll be sitting."

Like how she explained the black hole Gus went on, "GCSE's. You don't say it as a word, you just use the initials."

"Odd," Scotty responded uninterested. Unknowingly to both Gus and the carpet bag, Scotty had stopped in her ascension of the stairs. She had stopped outside a door that led directly onto the stairs rather than onto a landing.

The bag slammed into Scotty’s back, and in turn Gus slammed into the bag, earning a glare from Scotty. As Gus righted herself, she said in a frustrated voice, "But I need a teacher to teach me these things."

“You’ll be able to ask for guidance from the professors at Hogwarts.”

“But I’m learning things that are completely different from what is being taught at Hogwarts. How am I supposed to ask for help on a maths problem from a man who dedicates his life to cooking potions?”

“You’re a smart girl, you’ll be able to sort it out.” The dismissive tone that Scotty used reminded Gus of Aunt Petunia. It seemed no matter where she went there would be more important things to deal with than her problems.

After another strained and silent minute of Scotty’s foot taping, the door they were standing outside of opened to reveal a short gray haired man who had his arm around Harry’s shoulders.

He nodded at Scotty in greeting, "Ah Auror Croop good to see you again."

In an all-business voice, Scotty swung her arm down in Gus’s direction, "Minister, may I introduce Augusta Potter."

The gray haired “minister” stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you young lady."

Gus shuffled past the flying carpet bag and placed her hand in the man’s, only receiving a light grip during the handshake, "Nice to meet you to sir."

Almost instantaneously he pulled his hand away and clapped his together in an excited manner, "Well I must be off, got a country to run!"

Scotty gave a pinched smile as she waved to the man, "Goodbye sir."

Gus looked over at Harry and whispered "Who was that?"

"The Minister of Magic." He responded.                                                                       

Gus’s eyebrows raised up in incredulity, "Oh. Was I supposed to be impressed?"

Scotty turned from her sly attempt at inspecting Harry’s scar to Gus, shocked "Yes! That's the leader of the British and Irish Wizarding community."

"Oh, sorry." Gus mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"Now I will lay down the rules for you two.""You will not leave the confines of Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron. We can’t have the entire ministry out looking for two minors.”

"You'll be staying in room 13, here are your keys." "And Harry, no more magic before the start of school."

"Yes mam."

Gus looked at Scotty about to ask why she hadn’t mentioned Sirius Black to Harry. But before she could ask Soctty shoved a key into her hand.

"Who was that?"

"The Auror Scotty Croop."

"Oh, was I supposed to be impressed?"

“Shut up.”

After a moment Gus turned to Harry and grabbed him for a tight hug.

“Don’t ever storm off like that again.”

“Sorry.”

“You’ve just got to wait for me to pack my bag as well okay?”

“Why did she bring you here?”

“To keep an eye out on you, of course. No one better to watch a Potter, than a Potter.”

* * *

After spending a half an hour or so uninterestedly examining their new room, Gus had dragged Harry downstairs after hearing his stomach growl. They now sat down with a good stew and warm bread in front of them. For the most part both of them had been silent, besides for muttered ‘thank yous’ to the waitress and a ‘good stew’ from Gus. Harry had abandoned his bowl half way thru though and was currently toying with a crumpled piece of paper.

Sitting back, Gus read the upside down script. It was an unsigned permission slip for some place called Hogsmeade, "Uncle Vernon didn't sign it?"

Harry shook his head, "No, he said after Marge was gone he would." He began to fold the paper back up before Gus’s open hand was in front of him.

"Give it here."

 He looked up at her confused, "What’re you going to do?"

"This." From somewhere, Gus had produced a muggle pen and began to elegantly scrawl Uncle Vernon’s onto the crinkled paper.

With a shrill whisper Harry leaned in to cover up the forged paper from the rest of the pub’s clients, "You can't just forge a signature!"

With a sigh Gus capped the pen, and gave a bored look to her brother, "And you can't just go around making polyjuice potion, battling a giant snake, bunk off detention and sneak out after curfews can you?"

"How'd you know about that stuff?"

"Hogwarts might be a magical school, but it does send notes home when you act up."

"Wouldn't those go to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?"

"Nah, they hate going near any owls. Petunia's actually got good aim when she throws gravel at them." Gus looked into the distance and winced, remembering the time Petunia actually managed to knock one of the owls off of their neighbor’s fence. After a moment though she turned her attention back to Harry, "After the troll incident two years ago the owls started dropping the letters on me when I'd be walking to school."

"Oh."

"If you ever get bitten by a basilisk again I will drag you back from death and kill you myself."

"Good to know."

* * *

Gus had gotten bored reading through the various witch romance novels that the inn had lying around and decided that she’d give herself a treat. She had wandered into Flourish and Blotts an hour or so earlier, when one of the old book keepers was attempting to stack the different year’s assigned books. Though after hearing several avalanches of the different displays, the grumbling old man resorted to magically levitating the books so that they stood tall and proud in the front of the shop.

She gave the displays wide berth as she wanted to avoid knocking over the old man’s hard work. After searching long and hard for something that she would understand with her basic understanding of magic Gus had decided on _When Magic Became Masked_ and _An Explanation for How and Why Magic Works_. Finally after recalculating her path to the cash register Gus finally plopped the two worn and torn books onto the counter.

The old man looked at the titles, "Miss you do know that we have new copies of these books?"

Gus gave him a small smile, "Yeah, I'm just a bargain shopper is all."

After slamming the buttons of what seemed to be a prototype to one of the first muggle cash registers the old man stuck out his hand, "That'll be three galleons please."

Gus triple checked that she had the correct amount before dropping the coins into his hand, "Here you go."

She looked up from the old man to the wanted poster for Sirius Black. In his picture he was laughing madly at the camera before he began to struggle against the chains that were holding him to the wall, and then the photo would loop back to the beginning of his manic laughter. As the man handed her the books back she finally asked, “I was wondering, what's all the fuss about this Sirius Black fellow?"

"You don't know?" The man’s bushy white eyebrows were now raised high on his forehead in shock.

To show that she wasn’t totally ignorant Gus began, "He was on the tele-"

"Oh you’re a muggle born?" His voice now had a more understanding tone to it.

"Yeah." Gus went with the man’s idea of her.

He leaned across the counter and lowered his voice, "Well, he was in cahoots with You-Know-Who."

Gus nodded to show that she knew who that was and the man continued, "He was the man that betrayed the Potters. Didn't matter that they were his best friends, and then he went after the man who knew the truth about him, Peter Pettigrew, poor bastard tried to run.”

The old man shook his head and then with a disgusted tone finished, “Black just took out a whole street of muggles along with him to get his revenge. All they could find of him was a finger." The man held up his own index finger to add to the affect of the story, and Gus glanced between the finger and the Black’s wanted sign.

"Wow." She gulped, though it didn’t help cancel out the strain in her voice, “Hope they catch him."

The man leaned back from Gus now and gave a curt nod, "We all 'ope that. No one should get away with a betrayal like that."

"Thanks."

Gus had already turned her back to make her way out the store, in hopes to be able to get away from the feeling of dread that had settled over her, when the man called her back, "No problem sweetheart, you sure you don't want to pick up some second hand school books as well? Got the whole set for fourth years at Hogwarts."

She turned back and attempted a smile to show her thanks for the man’s help, but instead of looking at the man all she could do was stare at the poster. "No thank you already got a set at home."

* * *

When she tripped over the entry way to the Leaky Cauldron, Gus spotted Harry sitting on an overstuffed arm chair that was near one of the many fireplaces in the pub. Harry was reading through a quidditch book that Hermione had given him for his birthday, so far that summer it was the only book Gus had seen Harry pick up that summer. Even though she was more than sure that he probably had summer work that he would need to complete before they left for Hogwarts on September 1st.

Maneuvering around some occupied tables, Gus made her way over to Harry where she sat across from him, her purchases sitting on her knees. Harry only gave her a glance when he looked up to see who had sat across from him, allowing for Gus to look over her brother.

Harry was adventurous, brave and acted usually without any second thought on what he was about to do. And knowing his past record at Hogwarts, Gus knew that it got him into not just trouble with school rules, but trouble with risking his life. She had heard the stories about the quests Hermione, Ron and himself would task themselves with, like protecting a stone that could give someone immortality and vanquishing the monster that was inside the chamber of secrets.

Now gifted, or cursed, Gus wasn’t sure yet, with the knowledge that Sirius Black was the key to the fact that her parents were know dead, her mind was racing. Was she the one who should tell Harry that Sirius Black was the man who was responsible for their parent’s death, or to keep him the dark? Harry had told her that the main reason he and his trio had gone off on their fact finding was that because things had been kept from them. But unlike most children, including Gus, who had important information constantly kept from them, they went looking into this information, and usually almost getting them killed in the process.

It seemed that the Ministry of Magic had some sort of fear about Harry going off to find Black, as Scotty hadn’t mentioned anything she had said about Black to Gus to Harry the night they had arrived.

She doubted though, that Harry would leave Hogwarts and go out looking for Black on his own, but if the opportunity to face Black was placed before him… Well Gus wasn’t really sure what he’d do. While Harry did go off and challenge himself with finding answers and saving the day, she didn’t know how he’d respond to seeing the man that killed their parents. They had never really discussed the topic much.

The title of orphan she knew affected her very much, unlike most children who had proud parents looking at their highly marked book reports and math tests Gus only got to share the good news of her high grades to Harry through infrequent letters by owl post. And even then the long distance relationship her and Harry had to adapt to didn’t fill that hole that she sometimes felt.

Harry and Gus were only been used to each other’s hugs that they’d share if one had been given a good slap or two by their aunt and uncle, or if someone’s taunts in the school yard had been especially cruel that day. They didn’t get to feel the kisses from their parents when they would come in to check on them while they slept. They didn’t have any idea what the comforting sound of their mother’s voice was like. They didn’t have the memories of sitting on their father’s strong shoulders, getting to see the world from way up high.

And then she knew what she had to do. Gus knew exactly what she would do if she was face to face with the man who had robbed all that from her. She couldn’t tell Harry. Not until she knew more, so that she could answer Harry's questions and avoid having him run off for them.

* * *

The next day she dragged Harry to the book shop. Lying through her teeth that she wanted to get all his school books before the shops got too busy when it became closer to term time. Though with the alley abandoned in the heat of mid-summer Harry just glared at her as he went around the store picking up the various books he needed. Going back up to the bushy eyebrowed old man, she gave a bright smile.

“Hi, I was wondering what would be the best books to read about Sirius Black?”

“Let me lead you over to the history section.”

* * *

 

Gus had read through many of Harry’s school books the previous summer, mainly out of curiosity as the only entertainment she had most of the summer after Harry’s first year at school was listening to him retell his adventures with his friends; and most of what he mentioned was absolutely foreign to her. Like Harry and most other Hogwarts students she could barely get through _A History of Magic_ as the book was riddled with in depth details of various witches and wizards now long dead. Though she was intrigued with his potions book, with many of the various brews the ingredients seemed to have the reactions they ought without any magical help. It made her wonder what would happen if she ever tried her hand at some of the potions if they would work or not. But she doubted she’d ever get close enough to Harry’s cauldron and ingredients when she was under the Dursley’s roof, let alone brew an entire potion.

But nothing she had ever read ever mentioned He-who-must-not-be-named, Harry or the night her parents died, probably because those books discussed things that happened in the thirteenth century. Now she had the three books that mentioned all of those things. She had skipped most of the text in the books, only heading for the chapters that listed the ‘Wizarding War’, the ‘Time of Darkness’, or when a ‘Shadow falls over Wizarding Britain’.

They all basically told the same story; Lord Volde- You-Know-Who had gained many followers on the basis of ridding the world of the muggle and muggle born populations. During this time of great fear the young family of Lily and James Potter, with their baby daughter Augusta went into hiding, like many families did during that ‘era of fear’. But on Halloween 1981 their hiding came to an end as they were betrayed by their close friend and confidant Sirius Black who had revealed were they were hiding to You-Know-Who. That was the night that Gus lost her parents, the night Harry gained his scar, and the night You-Know-Who was vanquished.

Sirius Black in an attempt to hide his guilt killed another friend of his, Peter Pettigrew who knew that he was working for You-Know-Who.  During his attack on Pettigrew, Black killed 13 bystanders. And then he completely destroyed Pettigrew, leaving behind only a finger. Black was then sent to Azkaban without a trial as his actions proved his guilt. The rest of the Wizarding world rejoiced over the defeat of You-Know-Who. And the rest is history.

The story was so straight forward and understandable, and Gus didn’t like it. They always put the actors into the categories of good or bad, the events as a victory or loss. There seemed to be no room for even arguing a middle ground.

But none of these books told the full story of what happened that night. They never mentioned that she was found hiding in a downstairs cupboard; they didn’t mention why You-Know-Who was personally visiting the Potter household if they were just like any other wizarding family.

They told the story as one of long awaited victory, that her parent’s deaths were necessary losses in the war against evil; with the infant Harry as the victor.

The three books had the same picture of the happy little family. It was slightly burnt around the edges, making Gus guess that it might have been taken from the Potter house after her and Harry had been evacuated. Her father was holding her hands as she sat on his shoulders, a big grin coming from her ginger head. Harry was in their mothers arm, somehow managing to sleep through the giggles that the rest of the Potter clan seemed to be making. Their mother was looking up at Gus and giving a small wave; Gus’s hands wildly trying to escape her father’s grip and catch her mother’s wave.

While many of the ways wizards did things confused Gus, such as quills when there was perfectly fine pens out there, she understood the moving pictures. It made the moment feel more real. As if it could be brought to life at any moment. And every time Gus would flick back to the pages in those books with the identical photo it felt like for a second she would be able to look up and see her mother waving at her.

But the fact that the books were so distant with the idea that the four people in that photo are real, or for her parents who were real, made the topic even more painful. They listed out the family’s birthdays, Lily Potter nee Evans born the 31st of January 1960, James Potter born the 27th of March 1960, Augusta Eliana Potter born the 13th of March 1979, and Harry James Potter born the 31st of July 1980. They listed out her parent’s accomplishments during their times at Hogwarts, the head boy and girl of their year. They had a photo of the burnt out Potter cottage in Godric’s Hollow as well as the memorial statue of the Potter family that immortalized the infant images of Gus and Harry as they sat on their dead parent’s laps.

They way history was told made a heavy feeling form in her gut.

* * *

 

Gus had left Harry downstairs when she had vanished up to their room to read. He was finishing up one of the essays he had been assigned over his summer holidays. Though when she had descended for dinner she found him reading a piece of parchment.

“What you got there?”

“A letter from Ron, says him and his family are going to come tomorrow so that they can get there school supplies and get to the train on time.”

“Ron is the friend that kidnapped you right?”

“It wasn’t really kidnapping.”

“Trust me, a brief letter of ‘I love you and I’m fine’ to ensure your safety to me does not help unclassify what they did from kidnapping.” “Why would they be coming to stay here anyways?”

“They’re coming back from Egypt, so they’re coming here before they we go to Hogwarts.

“When are we leaving again?”

“Two days.”

“Already?”

* * *

 

Gus had purposely taken her time that morning getting ready. Today the Weasley clan was arriving. And from the three gingers in a flying car outside her bedroom window at midnight last summer she had no idea what to expect from them.  She usually didn’t mind what her hair or her clothes looked like. It wasn’t like anyone at Diagon Alley would take notice if she looked ‘nice’ by muggle standards, but for some reason she felt that it was important to look her best for the family that had taken her little brother under their wing. Finally after what she decided was enough stalling, as she had missed the end of breakfast at ten, she started to slowly make her way down the rickety stairs of the Leaky Cauldron.

When she finally reached the balcony of the staircase that overlooked the bar room she stood petrified. There was so many of them, all running around, ginger and chaotic. At the head of the table there was a woman obviously trying to keep control over the family, she was barking orders at two identical boys who were apparently playing a prank of some sort on a curly haired, gangly boy. Besides the woman was a skinny girl with long hair watching in quiet delight as her brother tormented one of her siblings. Gus couldn’t see the boy who had stuck his head into her and Harry’s room last summer; she also couldn’t see the mop of unruly black hair that belonged to her brother either. So she was going to have to face them alone.

After a few moments of looking on the scene she decided that she was going to have to go down eventually.

The moment that Gus’s foot hit the bottom of the landing the ginger woman’s head whipped around at her, "There you are!" Gus jumped at the booming and welcoming tone directed at her.

The young girl was now looking at her as well; looking between the two ginger females Gus gulped and asked hesitantly, "Do I know you?"

The woman gave an understanding smile as she made her way from the table, “Molly Weasley dear."

Gus gave a weak nod, "Nice to meet you,” she took a few more wary steps towards the crowded table. “Augusta Potter.”

“Nice to finally meet you dear, now come on over, didn’t see you at breakfast, must be starving.” The woman waved over for Gus to join them.

Making an attempt to seem less terrified Gus forced a smile as she finished making her way to the table full of gingers, “I’m fine thank you.”

All of a sudden though the woman pounced on Gus, stepping up to Gus and placing her hand’s on her cheeks, “Look at you, you and Harry both are just skin and bones. We’ll need to get some meat on you.”

Releasing a shocked Gus, Mrs. Weasley turned to the group at the table, her hand first went to her side where a young girl sat “Now this is Ginny, my youngest, this is her second year at Hogwarts.”

The woman spoke so quickly that Gus had to whip her head to the opposite end of the table as she moved her hand to point to a gangly older boy, “This is Percy, he’s head boy! We’re so proud of him.”

“So proud.” Turning to find where the paired voices had come from, Gus saw the two twin boys who had large smirks on their freckled faces.

“And those are the twins, Fred and George.” Mrs. Weasley introduced the twins with a more critical tone, “They’ll be going into their fifth year.”

After a moment of staring at the mirrored faces, realization hit Gus, “You two helped kidnap Harry last summer.”

"It wasn't kidnapping,” the boy on the left spoke first.

He was finished by his twin on the right, “It was a valiant rescue."

"Sure." Gus rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, “When you go in through someone’s bedroom window it’s a valiant rescue.”

“But-“started the boy on the right.”

“You two said you went through the front door!" Ginny and Percy both flinched as their mother’s voice had risen by what seemed to Gus several octaves as she interrupted one of the twins.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gus finally meets the Weasleys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated as of 4/11/2015  
> Please read and review!

"So you go to, what is it, a secondary school?" asked Mr. Wealsey completely ignoring the plate of food in front of him.

Swallowing the piece of bread she had just taken a bite of Gus nodded, "Yes, I was going to be in year ten."

Mrs. Weasley cocked her head to the side, "Was?"

Looking away from Mr. Weasley, Gus nodded againtowards Mrs. Weasley,"Well this Auror came to our house about three weeks ago to get me and Harry.She said I was going to have to go to Hogwarts with Harry until Sirius Black is caught."

Initially a grimace crossed Mrs. Weasley's face, though in a matter of seconds she was covering it behind a bright smile. "Oh you'll have a lovely time dear."

The twin on Gus’s right abruptly broke the silence, "So Harry says you can't do magic."

Gus nodded in confirmation, "I'm a squib."

Mrs. Weasley gave an exasperated sigh, "Fre-"

"I'm George mum." Called the twin, George as she’d now know him as, in a bored tone. The twins had cut Ginny off when she had made a move to sit next to Gus, and had sandwiched Gus between them on the bench that they were sharing.

Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes, "George, don't ask questions like that."

"It’s fine." Mumbled Gus, she didn’t really understand why they were treating the subject so delicately, or as delicately as the twins would allow.

In an attempt to move away from the awkwardness that had arisen Mr. Weasley continued on with his questions, "So what do you study?"

"Well the basics." The entire ginger clan looked at her with blank faces, "Maths, physics, chemistry, biology, English. I’m also taking history and Latin.”

"Sounds like Hermione." Piped up Ginny who had sat herself at the end of the table after being snubbed her original seat.

Mrs. Weasley smiled proudly at her, "You must be very smart."

"That's what my teachers tell me."

Excited to be involved with the conversation Ginny asked, "Are you excited about coming to Hogwarts?"

"Don't be daft Ginny of course she is." The twin on her left, Fred she deduced, said.

After lunch Gus was left awkwardly milling about the ground floor of the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Weasley had bid her adieu and stepped into the large fireplace and with a woosh of green flames and dust he was back at his job at the Ministry of Magic. The moment that they had been dismissed from lunch the twins ran off, Mrs Weasley warning them not to spend all of their money at Zonkos.

Mrs Weasley and Ginny, mainly Mrs Weasley though, had invited her on their shopping trip to Diagon Alley. Gus though had declined claiming that she needed to finish packing for tomorrow's trip.

* * *

 

Now, what she guessed was several hours later, Gus was looking over the Potter family picture in one of her books. She had actually already finished packing the day before. Whatever spells Scotty the Auror had used to pack her bag back at Privet Drive allowed her to pack an impossibly large amount of items into the case without it becoming full or heavy.

Gus had been staring at the picture of her family for some time now; she wastrying to remember anything at all about her parents that wasn't influenced by her readings or any of the information Hagrid had shared with them. But it was in vain. Every memory she seemed to have felt manufactured based off of her desperate desire to see her parents as the stereotypical happy, young couple who were deeply in love.

She had moved on to just watching the picture. The repeated movements of the occupants at first had been comforting, as if the picture had caught a bit of this lost life. Now it just seemed monotonous, that it was a show being put on, as if in a few minutes a person outside the frame would call "cut" and the moment would be over. The smiles would fall from her parent's faces and they'd hand over Gus and Harry to someone out of shot. Maybe the moving pictures weren’t such a nice thing, especially when it feels like you don’t really know the people in them.

But watching her mother smile up at the toddler version of herself, Gus felt like she could almost hear her mother's laugh. Her desire to feel like she was remembering something more powerful than the doubt that the image was just like an ad, an attempt at looking real. Her mother’s wouldn’t have sounded like Aunt Petunia, or really any other woman she had heard in her life.

The voice that she heard was so unique and beautiful, it had love and warmth and joy and it was just the voice a mother should have. The closest she could think she had ever come to having heard anything similar to it was Mrs. Weasley's voice. Though hers sounded nothing like what she thought her mother's did, but it had the same type of love and warmth and joy that she thought her mother's would have had.

And Harry had gotten to spend an entire summer with that voice, a voice that gave a peak into what their childhood should have been like. A childhood of milestones being achieved with proud, smiling parents; happy, magical Christmases; ordinary days where they would come home from school and their mother would ask how their day had gone, their father coming home from work asking if she had gotten that tricky test she had last Friday back yet.

Why did it have to be them? Why did they have to go through this alone, without anyone but each other, and even then have that being pulled away?

In a lame attempt to release the uncomfortable tension that had flared up from those thoughts, Gus let out a large sigh as she leaned back into the pillows of her bed.

Even after spending such a brief time in Mrs. Weasley's motherly presence, Gus wished she had known how accepting and warm the woman was last summer. If she was being honest with herself Gus would have crawled right out after Harry into the flying automobile if it meant getting even just a glimpse at what a proper childhood felt like.

All of her thinking had formed a large knot in her stomach.  She didn't know if she could face Harry and keep why they didn't have that life hidden from him. Keep the knowledge of who stole it from them away from him.

She didn't know how Mrs Weasley would feel about her skipping yet another meal that day, she would probably not let it happen without a fight and even then Gus thought she would almost certainly lose. But she didn't think she could face the world outside of their bedroom right now-

The door to her and Harry's bedroom slammed open, her little brother's shoulders were tense and his voice low, "Did you know?"

Gus sat up, "Did I know what?"

Harry had moved a few steps into the room, before slamming the door shut, "Did you know about Black?"

Moving to stand on the far side of the bed from Harry Gus swallowed but it was useless, her throat had gone dry, "Yes. I thought-"She choked on the words, her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth. She swallowed again, maybe she could put the blame onto someone else, "I had thought that the Toffee minister guy would have mentioned that's the reason why we're staying here."

Harry shook his head, "No, all I was told was that it'd be best if we spend the rest of the holiday away from the Dursleys." 

"Why would I go with you to Hogwarts if we just needed a holiday away?"

"I have no clue? I was just happy that it was happening!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

Cautiously Gus began to make her way around the bed to her brother, she asked quietly "Harry who told you?"

"I overheard people downstairs talking about it."

"How haven't you heard people talking about it earlier?" Gus was surprised that he hadn't put thought into why people whispered about him so much, or about what those whispers were about. "The weird looks they've been sending you?"

"I'm the boy who lived I always get weird looks!" He had stomped around to Gus's side of the bed, now cocking his head up and giving her an angry glare, "How long did you know?"

She swallowed and looked away, "A few days."

"You knew for a few days that a man who's out to kill me, also helped kill our parents!" Gus looked desperately to the door; someone by now should have heard Harry's shouting. Wouldn't someone, namely one of the Weasleys, come in to check what all the shouting was about?

"Harry you're the one who's been in the wizarding world I thought you would have heard about it."

"Well guess what, I haven't!"

Gus could feel her anger begin to fire up in her, "You didn't think at all to look into how our parents died? Or how you got that scar?"

"I was a bit busy with you know going to a magical school, figuring out who was going to steal the philosopher's stone and killing a giant snake that was petrifying people!"

"My god." She seethed, "That wasn't your job!"

"Well guess what, someone had to do it!" She guffawed at that. Now he was just repeating lame excuses at her. Since when did the responsibility of the safety of an entire school have to fall onto the shoulders of a 12 year old?

"And it should have been that bloody headmaster!"

"Don't talk about him that way." There was a dangerous glint in Harry's eye after bringing up Dumbledore. How the hell could he defend him like that?

Clenching her fists Gus matched Harry's aggressive stance, "I'll talk about him any way I want to because he let you get yourself into danger and almost die!"

"Well I didn't." 

She narrowed her eyes at him. How dare he just throw off his near death experiences as if they were just a bad football injury! 

Gus lowered her voice and pointed her finger at Harry's chest, "You know what I got when you got knocked out in your first year? A bloody letter! A letter saying you were in a serious incident, in a comatose state but were okay and would _probably_ wake up. Probably! And guess what I got when you got bit by a giant, stupid snake? Another letter! A letter saying you got bit by an animal with poison that should have killed you in a minute." 

"It's not like he can stop his life to come down and visit you."

Gus rolled her eyes, how could he be so stupid about this, "But you know what, when it's the famous boy who lived who did all of that, I think his sister can get a condolence visit." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Are you forgetting that he's also the man that left us with the Dursleys? He abandoned you Harry."

"No he didn't. He's been there for me more than you!" That properly shocked her. Two years he'd known this man, and Harry threw away everything Gus had ever done for him because he was some great bloody wizard, with a stupid hat and a bird that blew up.

"I've been there for you. He's just an administrator!"

"Stop acting like you know what I've been through!"

"I do! I lost my parents as well. I lost my home and the people who loved me. But I got the rough end of the deal. I'm in the dark while you're off learning to fly and have the chance to learn about what happened to our family."

Then Harry said the worst things Gus probably could have heard from him, "You're just jealous."

* * *

 

Both of the Potters had been eerily quiet the next morning. Ron and Hermione had attempted to pull Harry into their argument over whether or not Crookshanks, Hermione's new pet cat would be allowed out of his travel carrier at all during the train ride. Distractedly Gus batted away the over grown cat in its attempts to paw and rub itself against her as she merely nodded to most of the things that the twins were saying to her, going on about a man called Peeves.

Gus and Harry looked up at Mrs Weasley, or 'Molly, dear' as she kept insisting to Gus, as she began directing her questions about last minute packing to the two. "How did you two sleep last night?"

"Good, thank you for asking." Gus replied with a polite smile.

"No problem dear." 'Molly' leaned in over her breakfast so that she could get good looks at both of the Potter children, "Now you two have everything you need before we leave for the station?"

"Yes, all packed." Harry glared at Gus before giving his own answer of "Yup".

Taking a look over at Harry who was now viciously digging his fork into a piece of bacon, Gus coughed before she glanced over at the twin on her left, "George can I take you up on that offer to join Fred and you on the train?"

The twin on her right looked over her head at his double and cockily replied, "Couldn't resist our charms, could she George?"

"Guess not Fred."

The two replied in unison, "We'd be delighted if you would join us Miss Potter."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're off to Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated as of 4/11/2015
> 
> Please tell me what you think. I'd really love to know the impression Gus is leaving so far on people other than myself, because I'm the author and obviously a bit biased towards my own character.
> 
> I used two chunks from the original Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (the British publication, as there are some slight differences between the US and UK versions) and am not claiming those quotes or anything you recognize as my own. They're all JK Rowlings.
> 
> But please review and let me know what you think about the story. Like anything is awesome for an author to hear.
> 
> -Meg

Gus had been to the car park of Kings Cross Station several times, all for Harry’s trains to and from Hogwarts. She had never been inside the station as her Aunt had forbidden her from seeing Harry off to school. Harry’s first year at Hogwarts the Dursley’s hadn’t even waited for Harry’s trunk to hit the ground before they peeled out of the car park and onto the busy London street. Unlike Petunia who knew of Hogwarts existence, as Harry and Gus’s mother had gone for seven years, Uncle Vernon had wanted Harry to find out that the entire thing was a giant joke on him. Though Gus knew that Hagrid wouldn’t have lied to either of the Potter children, it wouldn’t fit with his kind nature.

That day had been particularly difficult for Gus, as that was the first time Harry and she had been separated. Dudley had made fun of her the entire ride to the hospital for his appointment to get his pig tail removed, as she had turned to watch the station and Harry disappear from her view. He was over the moon when she had actually started to sniffle and tear up.

Unlike what most people had said about being separated from someone they loved, it wasn’t the first few days that took the most out of her. It was a few weeks later in the first term of school when she was walking home from school that the pain of the separation had hit. So many things that had been such an important part of Harry and her relationship such as discussing their days or whispering and giggling about something stupid Dudley had done in the playground at break had just been ripped from her. And from the letters that Harry had been sending, he had someone to fill up all the empty parts of his life that Gus had filled in the form of Ron, and later on Hermione.

So when she actually got to go through the invisible barrier that led to platform 9 ¾ she had an excitement that couldn’t even be dampened by the lingering emotions from her and Harry’s fight. Gus was excited to see what the school held for her, because if Harry could find people who were kind and wonderful she probably could to.

Mr. Weasley had been on the back fringes of the group as they travelled along the long platforms of Kings Cross. After the entire group had made their way through the barrier at Platform 9¾ he tapped both of the Potters on the shoulders.

"Harry, Augusta," said Mr Weasley quietly, "come over here a moment."

He jerked his head towards a pillar, and the Potters followed him behind it, leaving the others crowded around Mrs Weasley.

"There's something I've got to tell you before you leave-" said Mr Weasley in a tense voice.

"It’s all right, Mr Weasley," said Harry shooting a not so subtle glare in Gus's direction, "We already know."

"You know? How could you know?"

"Well Harry heard you and Mrs Weasley talking last night."

"I didn't mean to overhear. Sorry-"

"That's not the way I would've chosen for you two to find out."

"Especially when Augusta could've told me a week ago."

"How'd did you find out Augusta?"

"The woman who met me at Privet Drive mentioned it to me." Gus left out the part where she actively went looking for the story of why Sirius Black would want to come after Harry and her. She didn’t want to give Mr. Weasley any reason to believe she’d go after him in search of more answers.

"She shouldn't have mentioned that." He looked away from them for a moment before continuing, "You two must be very scared-"

"I'm not," said Harry sincerely. "Really," he added, because Mr Weasley was looking disbelieving between the two. "I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldermort, can he?"

Mr Weasley flinched at the sound of the name, he turned to Gus, "And you Augusta, if you need anything, anybody to talk to you can send an owl over to our house. Ask one of the boys or Ginny for our address-"

"Thank you Mr Weasley but I'll be fine." He gave her a doubtful look and she relented, "If I need anything I'll make sure to write to you."

"I want you two to know that I know you’re made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not sacred, but-"

"Arthur!" Called Mrs Weasley, who was now shepherding the rest of the group onto the train, “Arthur, what are you doing? It’s about to go!"

"They’re coming, Molly!" Said Mr Weasley, but he turned back to the two and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice. "Listen I want you two to give me your word-"

"- that I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?" Said Harry gloomily.

"Harry!" snapped Gus; she was beginning to tire of Harry’s patronising tone towards Mr. Weasley. It was as if Harry wasn’t taking the whole ‘I have a crazed follower of a genocidal wizard after me’ as seriously as he should; especially when everyone else seemed to be.

"Not entirely," said Mr Weasley, who looked more serious than Harry (and Gus in her short time with him) had ever seen him. "Augusta, Harry, swear to me that you won't go looking for Black."

Harry stared at Mr Weasley. "What?"

There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming the doors shut.

"Promise me," said Mr Weasley, talking more quickly still, "that whatever happens-"

"Why would we go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?" Said Harry blankly, looking from Mr Weasley to Gus who was looking at Harry, waiting for his agreement to Mr Weasley's promise rather than also being confused.

After Mr. Weasley had released Harry and Gus from their conversation Gus had run off to one of the middle cars along with the twins, looking back several times at Harry. Harry ignored her looks.

* * *

“I need to talk to you in private,” Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione as the train picked up speed.

“Go away, Ginny,” said Ron.

“Oh, that’s nice,” said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

Harry, Ron and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This one had one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. Harry, Ron and Hermione checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food trolley.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard’s robes which had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though he seemed quiet young, his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

“Who’d you reckon he is?” Ron hissed, as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats furthest away from the window.

“Professor R. J. Lupin,” whispered Hermione at once.

“How d’you know that?”

“It’s on his case,” replied Hermione, pointing at the luggage track over the man’s head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name ‘Professor R. J. Lupin; was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

“Wonder what he teachers?” said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin’s pallid profile.

“That’s obvious,” whispered Hermione. “There’s only one vacancy, isn’t there? Defence Against the Dark Arts.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione had already had two Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had only lasted one year. There were rumours that the job was jinxed.

“Well I hope he’s up to it,” said Ron doubtfully. “He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn’t he? Anyway…” he turned to Harry, “what were you going to tell us?”

Harry explained all about Mr and Mrs Weasley’s argument from the evening before and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given. He also told them about how Gus had known of the whole situation for several days and hadn’t shared it with him. When he’d finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands at her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, “Sirius Black escaped to come after you and Augusta? Oh, Harry… you’ll have to be really, really careful. Don’t go looking for trouble, Harry…”

“I don’t go looking for trouble,” said Harry, nettled. “Trouble usually finds _me_.” He crossed his arms grumpily over his chest before he continued, “It would have been helpful in avoiding trouble if _Augusta_ had shared the information that she had learned.”

Hermione shot a look over to Ron at Harry’s venomous tone towards his sister, though Ron ignored the comment about Gus, as he knew better than to comment on a feud between siblings. It was like his mother always said to their father when any of his siblings fought, ‘they need to figure out how to get along on their own’.

Though unlike him, Hermione didn’t have the grace to keep her mouth shut about the comment Harry had made about Gus, “Harry I’m sure Augusta had a good reason for keeping the information to herself?”

“It’s not like she’d be able to do anything to protect me from him. He has magic and she doesn’t. It’d be pretty damn hard for her to protect me from a crazy _wizard_ , let alone Dudley or anyone else.”

“Maybe keeping that stuff from you was her way of protecting you, she didn’t want you to go out looking for Black for more answers.”

“How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?” said Ron shakily.

They were taking the news worse than Harry had expected. Both Ron and Hermione seemed to be more frightened of Black than he was.

“No one knows how to get out of Azkaban,” said Ron uncomfortably. “No one’s ever done it before. And he was a top security prisoner, too.”

“But they’ll catch him, won’t they?” said Hermione earnestly. “I mean, they’ve got all the Muggles looking out for him, too…”

* * *

Hours later Gus found herself being bombarded with candy. The twins and their friend Lee Jordan were accompanied by two members of the Gryffindor quidditch team, Alicia Spinett and Katie Bell. Though at the moment Gus couldn’t remember which girl was who, so she hoped that direct eye contact would infer that she was speaking to the dark haired girl on the right, “So which candy should I try?”

The girl opened her mouth to reply though Lee jumped in front of her “You had four sweetshops at your disposal and you didn't get any sweets while you were there?”

“I like my teeth.” She replied blankly.

Gus was bunched up on the seat with the twins, and Alicia (she thinks) reached out an open bag to her from across the aisle, “The jelly beans. You'll get some horrible flavours but it’s worth it.”

Thinking the worst she would get was black liquorice Gus let her hand venture into the bag and pulled out a yellow jelly bean.

A second after it had entered her mouth Gus had spat out the offending bean into her hand, “Oh my god that's disgusting!”

She turned her head quickly to see if the twins were as surprised as her, though like everyone in the compartment but her they had wide smiles.

“Was that ear wax? Who the hell thinks that for a candy 'oh I'll add some ear wax'. Why does he even know the taste?”

“You've never tasted your own-“started Lee again though he was cut off by the girl on the left whom Gus had decided was Katie. “Apparently there's a bogey one as well.”

“I'm rather found of the pumpkin juice ones. Dragons breath is good as well.”

“Let's see how she does with a chocolate frog!”

One of the twins was wrestling a chocolate frog box out of their trouser pockets when the train came to a halt.

“Why have we stopped?”

“Scheduled maintenance?” Shrugged Lee.

“It’s a magical train; it’s not going to need maintenance in the middle of a storm.” Alicia said dryly as she leaned into the window her hands covering the sides of her face as she peered out into the stormy night.

“Could Sirius Black have something to do with this?” asked Gus.

“It’s nothing to worry about.” Said George on her right.

The lights flickered off.

“Maybe it is something to worry about.” Said Fred on her left.

“Harry.” Muttered Gus, she stood and looked down at the twins, “Do you know which compartment they were in?”

“They were somewhere in the last car.”

One of the girls, Katie or Alicia grabbed her arm as she stood, “You can’t go out there.”

“Like hell, that’s my brother.”

Lee, who throughout the entire train ride had a smile on his face, was now uncertainly staring at the door, “It might just be a prank.”

“They’d have to be better than us to manage to stop the Hogwarts Express.” Came one of the twins haughtily.

“I’m going.”

“Gus!”

* * *

Breathless after running down to the last car of the very long Hogwarts Express, Gus was now wrenching doors open.

“Harry?” A group of huddled, unsorted first year students looked up at her with great distress.

“Harry?” A lone girl with bright white blonde hair looked up at her from an upside down magazine.

A couple, oblivious to the train having stopped were in a very intimate embrace, looked up at Gus with harsh glares. “So not Harry.”

As she closed the couple’s compartment door she turned to the last leg of the train car, Gus’s eyes widened as a dark gloom at the end of the compartment was being forced back with a bright white. Suddenly as if the gloom had its own consciousness it fled out through an open window and into the violent storm. Knowing that Harry was always at the heart of these sorts of events she sped down the hall to the last car.

“Harry!” Gus called as she ran into the compartment where a skinny man was holding up a wand to the doorway, though she ignored him completely. Right now her brother was on the floor of the compartment and not awake. “Is he going to be okay?” she asked frantically as she fell to her knees beside him.

“Augusta.” Said Hermione surprised as Gus joined her next to Harry.

“What happened? Tell me.”

“There was a dementor. It came right at Harry. He just started having this fit-” Ron babbled.

“He’ll be fine Miss Potter, give him a few minutes.”

Gus looked up at the man frantically. “How do you know?”

“I’m the new Defence against the Dark Art’s teacher, if I didn’t know I wouldn’t be a very good choice for this job.”

“Like that really matters.”  Ron muttered.

“Ron!” growled Hermione.

“Our last few teachers have been pretty bad.” Ron admitted, looking away from the frail and greying man.

Pocketing his wand, the man bent down alongside the two girls, “Let’s get him up onto a seat, shall we?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gus's first night at Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy Christmas, here's a little unedited gift that I wanted to get out to you all. It will be updated and edited again in a few days after all the Christmas holiday fuss is over. Even if you don't celebrate (I'm very secular myself but hey presents) I hope you have a good day and a wonderful new year!
> 
> All the best,  
> Meg
> 
> PS I'm so sorry that there some chunks of dialogue that aren't identifiable of which character says it, that's where the majority of the editing is needed.

 

Her voice was tense, an octave higher than normal "You had your face sucked by the denominator-"

"Dementor." Corrected Professor Lupin, though Gus ignored him and continued on, "And you fainted while hearing a woman screaming; a woman no one else heard. You are not alright."

Harry glared in her direction and grumbled, "I'm not going to get any better with you breathing down my neck."

She sighed, "Harry I'm worried."

"I'm fine." His tone had become final. She knew if she continued to stay she'd only be met with vindictive silence.

"You mean it?"

"Yes. Now I need to change into my robes, so you can leave."

Gus stood and shuffled pass Professor Lupin, who was looking between Harry and her with a strange expression. There was some strange sadness in it. Gus didn't know why though. It was probably because of what Harry had had to experience…

When Gus returned to the compartment she had shared with the twins and their friends she found that two more students, both wearing Gryffindor ties had found their way into what had already been a cramped space. After recognizing an additional red head Gus realized that Percy was there along with another boy who looked vaguely familiar. At the moment she couldn't place where she knew him from. She stood leaning against the door as the group was directing questions at Percy.

Angelina, she was sure that's who she was, asked "What happened?"

Jordan asked from his spot in-between the twins, his face revealed a strange excitement over the possible danger of a mass murderer being on the train, "We heard that Black attacked."

"It was a dementor. Probably checking for Black," Said Percy in an authoritative tone.

"It went after Harry." Percy jumped and turned to reveal Gus who he had been blocking from the rest of the group.

"It what?" Asked Fred, his voice slightly higher than normal.

"It tried to you know," Gus moved her hands up to her face, "at Harry. He fainted but he's fine now."

"Hell." Mumbled someone.

Jordan looked up at the group after a moment a moment of silence, "I swear since that kid came here we haven't had a normal year."

* * *

The Hogwarts station appeared to be like any rail station in rural Britain, there were two long platforms, a simple bridge to cross over them from and a station house. Though the moment when the train doors opened and the students were allowed off, a sea of black cloaks descended onto what was once a peaceful scene. The air was thick with laughter, loud gossip about a certain Potter passing out on the train, and the calls of students to long separated friends. Gus felt like she was drowning.

Suddenly there was a loud booming voice that Gus recognized immediately. "ALL FIRST YEARS COME THIS WAY!" Hagrid. It had been two years since she had last seen the massive boulder of a man.

She had heard from him, for the last two years she had received two well baked cakes for her birthday. Unfortunately Gus had ended up smudging most of the decorative frosting as she had to smuggle the cake into the house without Aunt Petunia noticing it.

Excited to see a face she recognized she waved her arm over her head and yelled, "Hagrid!"

Turning away from the small flock of first years who had gathered around his knees he shot a large smile towards Gus, "Well look who it is. Augusta Potter at Hogwarts, what a sight!" He then took three large steps, probably small for Hagrid's size though, and brought her into a bone crushing hug for several moments, before releasing her and looking over her.

"You've sprouted up like my green beans, you have. I take those muggles have been feedin' you well?"

"They've been alright." Gus shrugged her shoulders, but continued to smile. Hagrid had been so kind to her and Harry. And it seemed that his feelings over the past two years hadn't changed.

He bent slightly and lowered his voice, though it was still loud "Now I heard what happened to Harry on the train, he doin' 'right?"

"He says he's fine."

Gus thought she caught Hagrid mumble "Sure he is."

"Gus come on over this way!" cried the girl who had been confirmed as Alicia with a wave of her arm. The boy who had joined them in their compartment had called her Alicia when asking about her training over the summer for Quidditch.

Hagrid clapped a large hand on her shoulder, causing Gus to almost topple over, "I'll see you at the Welcome Feast, 'right Augusta?"

"So are we walking all the way up to the castle?"

"Nah we take carriages up thru Hogsmeade. If we walked you'd see second years lying dead on the path."

"That's cheery." Sudden movement by the front of the carriage they were about to enter caused Gus to jump, "What're those?"

Gus's head snapped back to George's face, how could they not see them, those things were massive. With wings! "What're what? The carriages?"

"No the things attached to them." Gus hand pointed to the strange, winged horse creature.

Both twins, who were standing on either side of her looked down at her their eyebrows wrinkled in concern and confusion, "Nothing's attached to them," George continued.

Sounding a bit more confident, Fred put his arm around Gus's shoulders, "We've been coming here for five years Gus, we know almost every secret that castle holds-"

Catching on to the confident act that his twin was putting on George added, "We'd know if something was pulling the carriage."

"So how do they get pulled?"

"Magic." The twins said together.

"Yeah, sorry that was stupid." The twins began to climb into the carriage and Gus looked over at the animal, she had to be going crazy.

* * *

Gus couldn't explain the feeling that was occupying her mind, it almost felt like a sort of numbness; it was as if the happiness she had over seeing Hagrid again, the relief about Harry appearing to be okay, the surprise and small amount of excitement she had over being at Hogwarts wasn't really touching her. It was being blocked out by this strange preoccupation; she couldn't identify what it was on though. There was a small amount of fear that came with it, but mainly it was a strange confusion. But the confusion wasn't over the magic she had witnessed, she couldn't figure out what was confusing her.

But the first glimpse of the great hall of Hogwarts pushed all of those things to the back of her mind. There was only one thought really grabbed her attention. It was  _wow._

There were too many details to take in: the beautiful house banners, the ceiling that looked just like the night sky that she had left outside, the happy chirping voices of the students, the floating candles, the fact that just standing in the room made her feel like she swiped her hand through the air if she looked at her hand it'd be covered in some dust form of magic.

She had a small amount of understanding of why Harry never thought about the deeper mysteries of their parents, if this main hall seemed to be full to the bursting with a distracting magic what was the rest of the school like?

Gus had ended up next to Harry at what she guessed to be the Gryffindor table. He didn't look overly joyed to be sitting with her.

Continuing to gaze up at the ceiling in aw, Harry gave an annoyed huff, "Are you going to sit down or what?"

"Oh yeah, of course." Gus looked around, she was the only one in the hall to be standing. Stepping over the bench she continued to look around the hall. She thought she had seen everything the hall had to give, but gazing over it again she was taking in even more. How many things could be in one room?

"Is she alright?" someone at the table asked.

"Gus?"

She gave a lazy wave of the hand as she continued to look around, "Yeah fine, perfectly fine."

"She looks like one of the first years."

"Look here they come!"

Gus attentively watched as the sorting of the first years took place. She felt awkward clapping along with the Gryffindors when they cheered and whooped for when a first year was sorted into the house. The awe she had earlier was overtaken by the uncomfortable feeling of being an outsider. She was the only person sitting at one of the house tables that wasn't wearing a school uniform, and she could feel some of the stares from the neighboring students.

Then came Dumbledore's speech, Gus had never met the man before, though she had seen the Chocolate Frog Card that Harry had of him. Even with the hype that had been made about him the only thing Gus really felt was impressive was his beard. The fact that when the man walked to the pulpit to begin his speech he did so without tripping on it was a feat in itself. Gus didn't want to imagine the care he must put into it to keep it looking so tame, magic probably. She was happy to see that Hagrid had been posted as the Care of Magical Creatures professor, she had cheered along with the table this time with full enthusiasm. She also joined in with the few full hearted claps that were given to Professor Lupin when he stood when Dumbledore introduced him; after all he had helped get rid of that shadow, dementor thing that attacked Harry.

Finally it was announced that it was time for the feast to begin, and as Dumbledore sat down food appeared, covering almost every inch of the tables in the hall. As if the ceiling wasn't enough, they had to have good food that appeared magically as well.

"Wow." Gus let out unintentionally.

"What?" asked Ron who was sitting on the other side of Harry.

"Do you get this much food all of the time?"

"Only tonight, Halloween and at the end of the year." Ron said in a tone that sounded slightly disappointed, "But usually there's always a pretty good spread."

"My god."

"Potter!"

Both Harry and Gus turned around on the bench to face a blonde boy who was leaning across the aisle. The tie that he wore around his neck was patterned with dark green and silver. Harry had mentioned this boy in his first letter to her from Hogwarts three years prior, Draco Malfoy had attempted to gain her brother's friendship by insulting his classmates before the school year had even started.

"Did you really faint in front of the dementors?"

"Oh shut up Malfoy." Ron who was sitting between Gus and Harry, pulled on his shoulder. Draco turned his gaze from Harry to Gus, taking in the obvious fact that she was not wearing a school uniform.

"And that must be the Potter squib." Gus furrowed her brow at the boy's use of the word, besides the time that Hagrid had explained what the word meant and why she was different from Harry she had only heard the term used by Scotty. But unlike the disinterested way that Scotty had used it and how Hagrid had passed the word off as if it was nothing important, the boy said it with such viciousness.

Harry's hands had tightened into fists on the table, though unlike how he had reacted so violently with Marge's insults, he sat and seethed. She knew that she was odd, in both the magical and muggle world, but she never saw it as something that needed to be described in such a disgusted manner, as if she trailed sewage everywhere she went.

A boy with several chubby chins then spoke up, "Has to be, never seen her ginger mug before, if I didn't know better she might be some long lost Weasley mutt."

Gus turned around, "So that's Draco Malfoy."

"Lovely chap isn't he?"

"Someone should punch his teeth in."

"We keep trying to hit bludgers at him, but Wood tells us off for it if it looks too obvious."

"Wood is your quidditch captain right?"

"He came into the compartment after the train broke down with Percy."

"Oh."

"Better hurry up, dinner is gonna disappear in a bit."

"Disappear?"

"Oh yeah, it'll disappear and then pudding will take its place."

"Don't you have people who serve dinner?"

"Magic."

"Oh."

* * *

"Miss Potter I'll be here to escort you to your chambers."

"Oh I'm not going to the dormitories?"

"No, only sorted students are allowed into their respective common rooms and dormitories."

"Of course."

"Now if you'll follow me this way."

"I- well goodnight Harry."

"Yeah."

"Will I have to be going up the movey stair cases professor?"

"No, the guest tower of the castle is down this way." McGonagall paused as she lead Gus through a particularly thick group of first years who were now wearing yellow and black, she was sure that was the colours for Hufflepuff."But you will have to use them for when you go to the library and some other parts of the castle."

Several minutes later Gus was in a hallway where she couldn't hear the excited voices of Hogwart's pupils, McGonagall stopped them in front of a large dark wood door.

"Now to open the door you'll have to knock in this pattern," she showed Gus an example of the pattern on the stone wall next to the door with her wand, "and you'll be able to enter."

She paused, thinking something over before continuing, "I advise to make sure that you have no unwelcome surprises from the Weasley twins that you keep that pattern to yourself."

"Yes mam."

"Unless you have any questions I will bid you a good night."

"No. Thank you professor."

"You're welcome Miss Potter."

* * *

The rooms weren't the chambers of Marie Antoinette, but for Gus the rooms were magnificent. There was a four poster bed in the centre of the room, which was across from a large fireplace where a small fire was crackling away, giving the room a warm orange glow. Her bag was on the foot of the bed, and the school books that she would use for the year were on a desk that was against a large floor to ceiling window that looked out onto a large hill with a forest at the bottom. There were candles in sconces that Gus guessed if she stretched she could just manage to blow out for the night.

She realized after a few minutes that she was still standing in the doorway, taking a few steps in she closed the door gently behind her. This was going to be her home for well, until Sirius Black was caught. And while it was slightly terrifying having yet another threat looming over her brother, there was a small part of her that wish that he didn't get caught for some time.

In the far corner of the room there was another door, to what Gus hoped was a bathroom. While she didn't mind having to share a bathroom, the thought of having to find her way to the bathroom in the middle of the night through the labyrinth of the castle wasn't too appealing. Pulling on the cast iron handle of the door, she opened it enough to peer in. She could make out the shadows of a bath and sink. Opening the door further she stepped in and jumped when candles lit themselves on her entry into the room.

"Magic." She grumbled. It was convenient, but bloody scary to have the room light itself when you weren't expecting it.

She had unpacked her things from her backpack, the books she had brought with her joining the others on the desk, some notebooks and her pencil case going there as well. All of her clothes pathetically filled only two of the six drawers in the dresser that was provided. The room was richly decorated with tapestries, a series of paintings that had animals running through them and warm rugs that kept the chill of the stone floor away it was still barren. Her entire life had been uprooted from Privet Drive and it barely made an impact on the room.

Sitting on the large bed Gus had changed into her pajammas, and was debating about sleeping or looking through Hogwarts: A History one more time just to refresh on any useful information. Looking over at the books on her desk, Gus crawled off the bed and grabbed one of the history books. Flipping to the end of the book she found the page with the picture of her family. She proceeded to prop the book open with some unlit candles in the direction of her bed. Lying down she watched the repetitive motions of the photo. If she had been awake a few minutes later Gus might have appreciated the dimming and the eventual extinguishing of all the candles around the room.


End file.
